Closets of Contentment

Haggai 1: 6

You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to become satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.

Isn't this the story of our lives? It seems like there is never enough, and though we have, we are never satisfied. The clothes are there, but no matter how much we have hanging in the closet, there is never the right thing to wear for whatever occasion. We pile on the layers, but still sit and shiver. Enough is never enough. That is our current culture. This phone is not as good as the new one, this computer is slow and out of date. The car needs repair, justifying us eye-balling the newer models that go whizzing by on the street. It's not that we don't have any...it is that we are not satisfied with any of it. We are spoiled.

And why the discontentment? God says it is because we are putting ourselves and our happiness, building our house with our stuff, instead of being concerned more about Him and His house. We work and labor for our creature comforts instead of building up the church, investing in the work and people there. We care more about whether our curtains match than if the missionaries have enough money to live in a shack with no heat. We spend all of our free time watching tv and running around playing, but don't “have time” for a prayer meeting or Bible study. We go to church, but it doesn't grab our heart. It is part of our life, but it doesn't satisfy, either. We have a bit of a relationship with God, but it is not as important as pursuing that person that we may want to marry or giving time to Bible study instead of studying for a job promotion. We have enough religion to get by, but it doesn't feed us, overwhelm our spirit with drunken joy in the Lord, we are not warmed by His covering, and according to the church in Laodicea, we are poor when we think we are rich.

I think we all spend seasons of life, or at least a few days, feeling like this. It is to be expected. We are human. We are separated from the holy and we show it. We aren't satisfied because there is a gap between God and fulfillment, and us and our lacking souls. But if this is our total state of being, never ever being overwhelmed with God's mercy and love, never feeling so blessed you feel like you are going to burst out in song or dance, then we need to see if we are failing to pursue the things of God for lesser things. I know I do.

This discontentment, or feeling of lack, shows itself in my accumulation of fabric and yarn. I see, I want, and at the right price, I buy. Not because I need...I have what is fondly refered to in my online Yahoo group Stashbusters, a SABLE – Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy. I have more than I can ever use. Well, at least in theory. If I sat down and sewed non-stop, I probably could realistically sew it up in a couple of years. But there is always a new piece that comes into the shop where I work, at Jo Anns or Hancocks, or any other store in the area or across the country. Shoot, I don't even need to need something...I just want to go and look! What else is out there? What colors, patterns, magazines and books can delight the eye? What can I dream of making next? Mind you, what I have accumulated all started out this way. It promised fulfillment and delight, but it is never enough.

Solomon had it right in Ecclesiates 1:8-11

The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear with hearing...is there anything of which one might say “See this...it is new!” There is no remembrance of earlier things...”

We want to see more. We want what is new. We look hard and forget all of what we have sitting at home waiting for us to use up.

And we forget God.

This is our condition. We are this way, and God knows it. So what's a fabricoholic to do?

Think on the things of God. Prepare His house. Be concerned about His people, His church, His house, more than your own desires. Who can we serve today with the things God has given us? Are we hoarding our food, our drink, our clothes and cloth, and our money, or do we have an open hand to the God who has provided it all? And are we grateful? He delights in our praise, which is the acknowledging AND thanking Him for all that we do have in all of these categories. If we are truly grateful for them, we will not misuse them or neglect them. We will rejoice in Him, and then we will be able to have a heart that is full and a life that is rich...and these things come from within when we are totally content in HIM.

Fill 'er up, Lord!